Chapter 49 - (3.5K Words)

"Someone seems a little tired, eh (Y/N)?" Junior chuckled, opening the back doors of the van. "Did you have a nice nap?"

Does it look like I had a nice nap?

"How long was I asleep?" You yawned, sleepily rubbing your tired eyes. All the shapes around you were blurred together, but you could almost make out the two boys standing just outside the van.

"Long enough for us to get all the way to Seoul," Jackson said, offering you his hand. "So about two or three hours, maybe?"

You gratefully took his hand and stepped out of the van, still rubbing the sleep from your eyes. He pulled you off to the side of the road and made sure that you were steadily on your feet before letting go of you and running back to the van.

About three minutes ago, you woke up to Jaebum leaning over you and quietly whispering in your ear, trying to wake you up as gently as he could. He had sweetly covered you with a blanket, claiming that you had been shivering. While you had been sleeping, your head had fallen from his shoulder down to his lap, but he didn't seem to mind.

Once you were awake enough to understand what was going on, Jimin unrelentingly teased both of you about your position, causing your cheeks to turn dark red. You immediately covered yourself with the blanket and pushed yourself off of Jaebum's lap. Jaebum rolled his eyes and yelled at Jimin for teasing you. Jimin didn't seem to care--he was more caught up in the fact that he had discovered a new shade of red.

For the rest of the ride, everyone in the back of the van was silent. That didn't mean that Junior and Jackson weren't talking, though. It was more like Jackson was the only one that didn't quit talking. It seemed like they hadn't even realized what was going on in the backseat.

You looked over at the boys, who were busying themselves unloading the van. You squinted your eyes and saw what looked like large duffel bags lying just on top of the street. You brought your hand up to your eyes to push up your glasses, but your fingers didn't hit anything.

That's right. Jaebum has my glasses.

"Jaebum!" You called, waving him over from the group of boys unloading the van. He dropped the bag he was carrying onto the street and walked over to you.

"Yes, (Y/N)?" He asked. "Is something wrong?"

"Do you still have my glasses?" You asked, trying to hide the slight blush that you still had from earlier. "I think I forgot to ask you for them when I woke up. I can hardly see."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot I had them," he chuckled, reaching into his breast pocket and handing you your folded up glasses. "Here you go."

You gratefully took the glasses from him and unfolded them. You slid them on over the bridge of your nose and blinked until you could see clearly. The blurry shapes turned into buildings, cars, and signs that littered the side of the street. You looked up at Jaebum and smiled, instantly feeling more at ease now that you could see.

"You're not still embarrassed, are you?" He asked, his voice softening.

Your cheeks started burning, and you hoped that it was too dark for him to see how red your face was. You lightheartedly chuckled and shook your head, praying that you weren't coming off as nervous.

"Listen, (Y/N)," he sighed, his voice immediately turning serious. You looked up at him and noticed that his face had turned stony.

"It is my job to help and protect you, and I want to do the best job that I can," he said, turning his body towards you. "If you don't want to talk to me or ask me questions, I can't help you."

You nodded in response, lowering your eyes to the ground. Jaebum reached out, putting his index finger underneath your chin and gently tilting your head so that you were now looking him in the eyes.

"I understand if you're still embarrassed," he murmured, barely audible over the boys that were unloading the van. "But please don't let that stop you from talking to me. That's going to make it harder for the both of us, okay?"

He's right. I need to be able to trust him.

"Okay," you nodded, doing your best to maintain eye contact with him. Your cheeks were still burning, but for a different reason this time.

"Good," he smiled, taking his hand away from your chin.

He turned around to look at the three other boys, who had just finished unloading the van. They were making their way over to where the two of you were standing, all at least carrying one of the big duffel bags. You weren't sure what was inside them, and you hadn't remembered seeing them in the van with you.

"Jaebum, what's in those bags?" You asked, motioning to the boys with your head.

"One of them is full of guns for protection purposes," he said, somewhat relieved that you were talking to him again. "The other three are full of more money. There should be about 5 million in American money in each one of them."

"You had an extra 15 million?!" You gasped, bringing your hands up to cover your mouth.

"You sound surprised," Jackson laughed, coming to stand just beside you. "Don't you know how much you're worth? How important you are?"

"That's the one thing I haven't learned this week," you sighed, shaking your head. "It seems like everybody knows who I am, but I have no real idea who I am or why I'm so important. No one will tell me."

Jackson's smile disappeared. He looked up at Jaebum with a serious expression. Jaebum's eyes flickered from you to Jackson, and then back to you. Junior and Jimin finally joined the group on the sidewalk but paused when they realized that no one was saying anything. Nobody dared to break the silence.

"Why don't we get you inside, and we can talk about that later?" Jaebum said, stepping forward and draping his arm over your shoulder.

"Besides, there's somebody already here who would love to meet you."

* * * *

"Here we are," Jackson said, opening the door of the building just in front of you. "Let's all get inside."

Jackson had forgotten to mention that he had deliberately parked a few streets away from the building that you were going to. You already hadn't known where you were, and now you were even more confused. Jaebum had to slow down and explain to you that you were in the Gangnam district of Seoul, which was quite a ways away from the airport in the Jung District.

Now, you were standing in front of a tall, glass building. It seemed to be one of the tallest, most extravagant buildings on the street. You could see a large sign hanging just over the grand doorway into the building, but it was too dark for you to see the logo.

You watched as the boys piled into the reception room of the building. Jaebum politely held the glass door open for you and ushered you inside the dimly lit building. You ducked underneath him and walked into the large room. You saw the company's logo just behind a large, white reception desk in the center of the open room.

"2NE1?" You asked in confusion, tilting your head, making sure that you were reading it right.

"It's the name of the company that Miss Lee and your aunt work for," Jackson explained. "It's also the brand of makeup that you're wearing. I wouldn't be surprised if they used our hair dye, either."

"How can you tell?" You asked, self-consciously tucking a lock of hair behind your ear.

"I can't," he chuckled, shaking his head at you. "But 2NE1 is the biggest makeup company in the country. If BTS is trying to make you look pretty for us, they wouldn't want to be caught using makeup from another company, would they?"

"No, I guess not," you said, nodding your head in understanding.

"Alright, everybody in, let's go," Junior said, hitting the elevator button. "We can't keep her waiting too much longer. We might get in trouble."

You watched as the boys' eyes simultaneously widened in fear. They all gave each other a quick glance and then piled into the elevator. You followed after them, not wanting to get left behind. The elevator doors slid shut behind you, closing you into the small room with the four other boys.

Junior pressed the button for the top floor, sending the elevator shooting upwards. You grabbed onto the railing to keep yourself from falling into Jimin, who was standing just behind you. He chuckled as you steadied your weight and pushed yourself away from him and closer to the inside wall of the elevator.

"That can't be comfortable," Jimin cooed, sending shivers down your spine. "Why don't you take a step away from the wall? There's plenty of room back here, beside me."

"Leave her alone, Jimin," Jaebum said from the other side of the elevator. "Otherwise, you're getting out on the next floor and walking to the top."

Jimin opened his mouth to fire back a retort but caught himself before he could say anything that he might end up regretting. He calmly exhaled and faced forward, then ran his hand through his hair. He didn't try to say anything more to you.

You looked over your shoulder at Jaebum and gave him a grateful nod. He gave you a kind smile and dismissed your nod with a wave of his hand.

The rest of the elevator ride was silent, except for the constant drone of Jackson's voice. You weren't sure who he was talking to, because it didn't seem like anyone was listening to him. That wasn't stopping him from talking, though.

Maybe he just likes the sound of his own voice.

Soon enough, the elevator slowed to a stop. You let go of the railing just as the doors slid open, revealing a long hallway that led to a set of black double doors. The five of you piled out of the elevator, and you watched as they calmly started walking towards the big black doors at the end of the hallway. You took a shaky breath and nervously followed after them.

"I don't know what we're going to do with him," you heard a female voice come from just behind the set of doors. "We can't just have him running around in Daegu again now that he knows everything."

"What about his friend?" Another, deeper voice asked. "I understand that we can't just let them go, but they can't stay here forever. You know that."

"Here's a suggestion--stop talking about me like I'm not here," a familiar voice spat. "I'm tired of listening to you--"

"We're going to have to sit tight until we receive orders," the female said, talking right over the man. "We can't do anything until--"

At that moment, Jimin pushed the doors open, revealing a large, bright room. Your eyes widened in amazement as you followed after the boys. They stepped out from in front of you, giving you a glimpse of the breathtaking room.

The room wasn't square, like the base of the building had been. Instead, it was hexagonal, with three of the walls glass and overlooking the skyline. A large white desk was setting just in front of the middle panel of windows with papers strewn everywhere across the flat surface.

A woman stood just behind the desk, leaning up against the windows and looking at the street below. You weren't quite sure who the woman was because you hadn't seen her before. As you walked into the room, she stopped talking and gazed up at you with curious eyes. Her eyes came to rest on you, and a large smile worked its way onto her lips.

Wow, she's beautiful.

"(Y/F/N) (Y/L/N)," she said, pushing herself off the window and walking towards you. "It's such an honor to meet you."

Wait, I think I know who she is.

"A-Are you Miss Lee?" You asked, self-consciously stepping forward, slightly bowing your head to her.

"Aish, you don't need to be addressing me like that," she chided, dismissing you with a wave of her hand. "Please, call me Chaerin."

"A-Alright, Miss Chaerin," you said, bowing your head to her again. She shook her head and chuckled at you, covering her eyes with her hand.

"You're too polite," she said, pretending to scold you. "I bet you have a lot of questions for me."

She paused just in front of the large desk and looked you over. She gave you a disgusted glare and then shook her head, causing your stomach to form a knot.

What's wrong?

"Not to be rude, but those clothes are rank," Chaerin said, running a hand through her dyed blonde hair. "Who the hell picked those out for you?"

"I don't think you'd believe it, but I picked them out," Jimin said, setting his duffel bag down on the floor beside him. "But I can assure you, I had a reason for picking them."

"Jimin, before you dare explain why you've made a fashion faux pas in my presence, we need to get her reoutfitted," Chaerin said. She motioned off to a corner of the room that you couldn't see. "Can one of you go and take her to get some better clothes?"

"I can take her," a familiar voice said. "My legs were about to fall asleep, so I might as well get up."

You looked over your shoulder and watched as a man rose to his feet. You shook your head in disbelief as the man looked over at you and gave you a small smile.

"M-Mark?" You stuttered, bringing your hand up to your lips. You tried to say something more, but you could feel the stinging sensation building in the back of your throat.

"Yeah, it's me," Mark smiled, walking towards you with outstretched arms. "And look behind you!" He pointed just past you.

You turned over your shoulder and saw that Yugyeom was standing just a few paces away from you. He waved to you, but you couldn't say anything back because of how badly your throat was hurting. He nodded at you in understanding, a sweet smile on his lips.

"That's not all," Mark said, drawing your attention back to him.

He briskly walked up to you and placed his hands over your eyes. You closed your eyes as he moved his hands down to your shoulders. He carefully started to spin you around in a circle, causing you to giggle despite the tears falling from your eyes. You slowed to a stop, and he steadied you.

"Go ahead and open your eyes," he whispered, taking his hands off your shoulders. You slowly opened your eyes as he stepped away from you. You stared in disbelief at the man standing just before you, the stinging sensation in your throat growing even more painful.

You're safe.

"Hello, love," Jiyong said, a big smile playing at his lips. "It's been a wild couple of days, and I've learned a lot of shit. But, at least I'm not in hell yet."

You opened your mouth in desperation, wanting to say something to him. He raised his eyebrows and cupped his hand around his ear, cheekily waiting for your response. You gave up and closed your mouth, and ran at him instead. He chuckled and caught you in his open arms.

"I think I've finally realized what hell is," he said, lightly patting the back of your head as you cried silently into his shoulder. "Hell is a world where you don't exist."

You heard Mark clear his throat behind you, and you took your head away from Jiyong's chest. Jiyong looked down at you and sighed. He took his arms away from you, leaving you with an empty feeling. He took your hands in his and started rhythmically stroking your palms.

"Listen, you go and get some new clothes with Mark, and then when you come back, we can answer all of your questions," he said as if he was trying to convince himself of the same thing. "I'll be right here when you get back. I promise."

You sharply nodded your head, the stinging in the back of your throat finally beginning to fade away. He gave you a smile before letting go of your hands and taking a step away from you. Mark came up behind you and put his hand on your shoulder, causing you to look up at him.

"Let's go get you out of these rags."

* * * *

You walked out of the dressing room and paused just in front of Mark. He scanned you up and down multiple times before giving you the final nod of approval.

"Are you sure?" You asked, looking at yourself in the mirror just behind him. "I thought that the last one looked better on me."

"Why don't you like this one?" Mark asked, leaning forward in his seat. "It looks just fine on you."

You looked at your reflection in the mirror one more time and shuddered in response. You didn't know why you didn't like the outfit, but it didn't look good on you like Mark was claiming that it did.

I do not look good in zigzag patterns.

"How about this one?" Mark said, grabbing another hanger off of the rack. You shook your head in response and he put it back onto the rack. He pulled another hanger off of the rack and gave you a questioning look before rethinking his decision and putting it back onto the rack.

He vigorously searched through the rack of clothes, determined to find something that the both of you could agree on. You covered yourself with your arms and patiently waited for him to find something worthwhile.

"(Y/N), what about these?" He asked, holding up a new hanger with a new set of clothes. "How about you give these a shot?"

"Alright," you said after you looked them over. Mark nodded and handed you the hanger, then returned to his seat.

You ducked back inside the dressing room and quickly undressed. You quickly slipped the new clothes on over your naked body. You adjusted the clothing so that it was resting comfortably, then stepped out so that Mark could see how it looked.

"How do I look?" You asked, theatrically throwing back the curtain of the dressing room and giving Mark a sexy glare.

I have to keep myself entertained somehow, right?

Mark didn't answer you.

"Mark, I asked you--"

Your breath caught in your throat as you looked at your reflection. You didn't look like yourself. You looked like a goddess.

The light blue striped sweater you were wearing contrasted against the paleness of your skin. The black stripes on the sweater, the black shorts you were wearing, and the black color of your hair all seemed to fit together perfectly. You batted your eyelashes and realized that your makeup went perfectly with what you were wearing, too.

"We should really get back to the main room," Mark said, awkwardly breaking the silence. "We've already spent enough time here as it is."

"You're right," you said, nodding your head and ripping your eyes away from your gorgeous reflection. "They're probably all waiting for me, and here I am, acting like a child in a candy store."

"It's not completely your fault," Mark chuckled, opening the door out into the hallway. "You've had a very long week, and you need some time to yourself. Besides, I think that looks very lovely on you."

"Thank you, Mark," you said, stepping out into the hallway. He closed the door behind him, then the both of you walked toward the elevator.

The short ride up to the top floor was silent, but that didn't seem to bother either of you. Once you got to the top floor, you could hear voices coming from behind the big black doors again.

"She should be back fairly soon," Jaebum said. "Miss Lee sent her to go and get some better clothes with Mark."

"They've been gone an awfully long time," Junior added. "They should be back soon, so we won't have to wait long."

"Look at that, they're talking about us," Mark chuckled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It looks like we were gone long enough for them to get suspicious."

You laughed, wondering what kind of thoughts were going through their minds.

Do they really think that Mark and I would do anything?

Mark stepped in front of you and opened the door, then paused in his tracks. His smile immediately vanished and his expression turned solemn. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, then followed his stony gaze. Your breath caught in your throat as you realized who he was looking at.

"Auntie?!"